Paper bail construction and mounting



June 25, 1963 A. c. ZEAMER 3,09

PAPER BAIL CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING Filed Sept. 1, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet1 INVENT OR Aaron C. Zeumer BY ,6 wyw ATTORNEYS June 25, 1963 A. c.ZEAMER PAPER BAIL CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept.1, 1960 INVENTOR Aaron C. Zeomer ATTORNEYS June 25, 1963 A. c. ZEAMERPAPER BAIL CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 1,1960 INVENTOR ATTORNEYJ States atent Patented June 25, 1963' 3,095,978PAPER BAIL CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING Aaron C. Zeamer, Groton, N.Y.,assignor to Smith Corona Marehant, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., a corporationof New York Filed Sept. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 53,454 3 Claims. (Cl. 197-138)The present invention relates to improvements in the structure andmounting of Work sheet retaining bails for rotatable platen equippedcarriages for machines such as typewriters and the like.

The work sheet retaining bail, customarily referred to as a paper bail,is a work sheet holding device which holds paper or other work sheetsagainst the platen of a typewriter or like machine while type elementsare being actuated against the work sheet for printing, stencil cuttingand like purposes.

Since the beginning of the use of the paper bail as a paper holdingdevice, it has been a common practice to mount the cross member on thesupporting arms of the paper bail with one or two screws. The screwshave repeatedly become loose and some have completely fallen out fromthe cross member. The paper bail mounting of this invention eliminatesthis fault.

In conventional typewriters, the paper bail is an extruded steel rodhaving a flat surface to provide a paper scale. It is a common practiceto design the bail rolls to be assembled over the bail rod. This type ofassembly has several disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that thebail rolls will conceal the portion of the paper scale where they arepositioned. This has necessitated the provision of separate scalemembers in many instances. Another disadvantage results from the commonrelatively large diameter bail rolls which further separates the paperscale from the work sheet causing an inconvenience to the typist.

Still another disadvantage of the previously described paper bailresults from having the common two or three bail rolls on a crossmember. The use of so few bail rolls necessitates adjustment of therolls longitudinally of the bail by the typist when different widths ofpaper are used. The paper bail of this invention requires no adjustmentsof the bail rolls.

The fundamental overall object of the present invention is to provide animproved work sheet retaining bail and mounting therefor for rotatableplaten type carriage equipped machines by which bail roller generatedmarks upon the work sheet are eliminated, by which the operator has atall times an unobstructed view of a work sheet alignment scalepositioned closely adjacent the platen periphcry, and by which the worksheet retaining bail bar is rigidly and permanently mounted on thecarriage and is readily selectively adjustable from its normal paperretaining position to erasure and work sheet insertion facilitatinginoperative positions.

A further object of this invention is to provide an im proved mode ofassembly of the bail cross member or bar and its supporting arms whichprevents the interconnect ing screws from working loose.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved work sheetretaining bail by which the pressure of the bail rolls is distributedover a wide area when the bail is in its operative position to preventthe bail rollers from marking the carbon copies when carbon paper isused for duplicate copy Work.

Another object of this invention is to provide, on a work sheetretaining bail, a scale, which, when the bail is in its operativeposition, is completely exposed to view by the operator.

Another object of this invention is to provide on a work sheet retainingbail, a scale, which when the paper bail is 2 in operative position, isrelatively close to the platen to provide an improved visual aid for thealignment of work sheets in the carriage.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a work sheetretaining bail embodying a sufficient number of small rollers across theplaten to eliminate the need for any adjustment of the roller positionslongitudinally of the platen when different widths of work sheets areused with resultant saving of time and effort by the operator andprevention of the typist from handling the rollers, thus preventingsoiling of the operators fingers and the rollers.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomemore fully apparent by reference to the appended claims and as thefollowing detailed description proceeds in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which are drawn to scale and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a typewriter embodying a paper bailconstructed and mounted in accord with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the carriage of the typewriterof FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the carriage of FIG- URE 2 illustratingthe bail mounting;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 ofFIGURE 3 illustrating the bail in its operative position;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating an inoperativeposition of the bail;

FIGURE 6 is a View similar to FIGURE 4 illustrating a second inoperativeposition of the bail;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bail when in itsposition illustrated in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the left hand end of thebail when in its FIGURE 6 position illuse trating the detailed mountingof the bail rollers;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view through the bail along the line 99 ofFIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view through the bail along the line 1010 ofFIGURE 7;

FIGURE 11 is a left side view of the right hand ba' bar support arm; and

FIGURE 12 is a bottom elevational view of the right hand bail barsupport arm.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and particularly to FIGURE 1-,the typewriter 16 therein illustrated comprises a base structure 18 atthe front of which is located a keyboard 20 for actuation of type barsdisposed in a type basket located at 22 for movement to a printingposition 24 and engagement with a platen 26 rotatably mounted upon acarriage 28 which is mounted for movement transversely of the base 18under control of escapement and carriage return mechanisms in theconventional manner. Cooperating with the platen 26 is a work sheetretaining bail 39 constructed and mounted in accord with the principlesof the present invention.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the bail 30 comprises a bar 32 extendinglongitudinally of the carriage 28 above and in paper retaining relationto the platen 26 when in its operative position. The bar 32 is fixed atits opposite ends to a pair of support arms 34 and 36 pivotallyconnected by screws 38 and 49 respectively to pivot links 42 and 44respectively. The axes of screws 38 and 40 are coaxial. Pivot links 42and 44 are fixed to a shaft 46 extending longitudinally of the carriage28 and pivotally mounted at its opposite ends in transverse frame.members 48 and 50 which form parts of the frame of the carriage 28.

The bail 30 is shown in its work sheet retaining operative position inFIGURE 4, in its forward erasure facilitating inoperative position inFIGURE 5 and in its rearward paper insertion facilitating inoperativeposition in FIGURE 6. Referring first to FIGURE 4, the limit ofclockwise movement of pivot link 44 about the axis of shaft 46 isdefined by the engagement of the projecting end of screw 40 with a stopsurface 52 on the frame member 50. A tension spring 54 is connectedbetween 'a spring stud 56 fixed to thearm 36 and a spring stud 58 fixedto the frame member 50. As is apparent from FIGURE 4, the line of actionof spring 54 when the bail 30 is in its work sheet retaining positionpasses between the axis of shaft 46 and the axis of screw 40 so thatlink 44 is biased in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG- URE 4against the stop 52 and arm 36 is biased in a counter clockwisedirection about the axis of screw 40 toward the platen 26. Since arms 34and 36 are rigidly connected by bar 32 and links 42 and 44 are rigidlyconnected by shaft 46, arm 34 and link 42 are similarly biased.

When the bail 30 is moved to its forward inoperative position as shownin FIGURE 5, the extension of screw 40 abuts against a further stopsurface 60 on the frame member 50 to define the limit of counterclockwise movement of the link 44 about the axis of shaft 46. When inthis position, the arm 36 of the bail 30 rests upon a support stud 62fixed to the member 50 on its face adjacent the opposed end of theplaten 26. It will be noted that the line of action of spring 54 whenthe bail 30 is in the position shown in FIGURE 5 lies in front of theaxis of shaft 46 and the axis of pivot screw 40 so that link 44 isbiased in a counter clockwise direction about the axis of shaft 46 sothat pivot stud 40 is biased against stop surface 60 and so that arm 36,together with the entire bail 30, is biased in a clockwise directionabout the axis of pivot screw 40 against the supporting stud 62.

When the bail 30 is moved to its paper insertion facilitating rearwardinoperative position as shown in FIGURE 6, the arm 44 is in the sameposition as in the configuration of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 4,that is with the extension of pivot screw 40 in abutment with the stop52 on the frame 50. Arm 36 is pivoted about the axis of pivot screw 40to the limit of its clockwise movement as defined by the engagement of asurface 64 on arm 36 with a transversely projecting lug 66 on the link44 adjacent the pivot screw 40. In this configuration of the linkageshown in FIGURE 6, the line of action of the spring 54 lies to the rearof the axis of pivot screw 40 and the axis of shaft 46 so that link 44is biased in a clockwise direction to the position in which screw 40engages stop 66 and arm 36, together with therentire bail 30, is biasedin a clockwise direction about the axis of screw 40 to the position inwhich surface 64 of arm 36 engages stop lug 66 on arm 44.

Referring to FIGURE 7 which is a front fragmentary elevational view ofthe bail 30 in its FIGURE 6 position, and to FIGURE 8 which is anenlarged fragmentary perspective view of the left hand end of the bail30 when in its position of FIGURES 6 and 7, the bail bar 32 is anextruded metal element of uniform cross section throughout its length,its cross section being shown in detail in FIGURES 9 and 10. The base ofthe bar 32 adjacent the platen 26 when the bail 30 is in its operativeposition is formed with a longitudinally extending groove 70 ofsubstantially semicircular cross section as shown in FIG- URES 9 and 10.A shaft 72, the axis of which lies within the groove 70 as shown inFIGURES 9 and 10, extends longitudinally of the entire length of groove70 in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of the platen 26. Shaft72 is supported within groove 70 by a plurality of retainers '74-'84,each of the cross sectional configurations shown for retainer 76 inFIGURE 9. Retainers 74-84 are preferably of gray vinyl having adurometer of 951-5 and in one practical embodiment are .250 inch long,have a major outside diameter of .183 inch, and an inside diameter of.051 inch on a center offset .010 inch from the center of curvature ofthe major diametral surface toward the minor diametral surface. Theretainers 74-84 are fixed within the groove 70 by a suitable cement suchas Eastman 910 and the shaft 72 is similarly fixed in the apertures ofthe retainers 74:84 through which it extends by cement. A plurality ofbail rollers 86-96 are journalled for rotation on and for axial slidingmovement along the shaft 72, the limit of the axial sliding movement ofthe rollers 86-96 along the shaft 72 being established by the fixedretainers 74-84. As is most clearly shown in FIGURE 10, the diameter ofthe rollers 86-96 and the location of the axis of the shaft 72 withinthe groove 70 are such that the major portion of each of the rollers86-96 lies within the groove 70 and only a segmental portion projectstherefrom for rolling engagement with the platen 26 or the top surfaceof an interposed work sheet as shown in FIGURE 4. Rollers 86-96 are muchsmaller in diameter than conventional rollers. In a preferred practicalembodiment, each of the rollers 86-96 is .500 inch long, has a .160 inchoutside diameter and a .051 inch inside diameter. Rollers 86-96 arepreferably formed of gray vinyl having a durometer of 7 5 i5 The face ofthe bar 32 defined by the surface 102 is provided with a plurality ofequally spaced indicia marks and associated numerals as shown in FIGURESl and 2 applied by silk screening. The marks extend transversely of thelongitudinal axis of bar 32 toward the edge 104 of the groove 70 andthus to a position very close to the periphery of the platen 26 tofacilitate alignment of the work sheet longitudinally of the platen 26when bail 30 is in its operative or FIGURE 4 position. As will be notedfrom FIGURES '1 and 2, the entire length of the scale 106 is visuallyunobstructed due to the fact that the bail rollers 86-96 are journalledinternally of the bar 32.

In order to provide a rigid assembly between the bar 32 and the arms34and 36, an interlocking connection is provided between bar 32 and eachof the arms 34 and 36 at the ends of the bar 32. Referring to FIGURES1'1 and 12, the faces of the arms 34 and 36 adjacent the bar 32 areformed with recesses I108 defined by an arcuate side wall 110 andsidewalls 1'12, 114, 116, and 118 joined by small radius fillets at 120,122, 124 and 126. In assembly, the end of the bar 32 is press fittedinto the recess 1108 so that the surface 102 of bar 32 is in firmengagement with the wall 118 of recess 108, the surface threadedaperture in the end of the bar 32.

The bar 32 is similarly interlocked with a recess in the adjacentsurface of the arm 34 and fixed therein by a screw 138 shown in FIGURE7.

The invention may be emb died in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in .all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within'the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is: a

1. In combination with a carriage, a rotatable platen and a work sheetretaining bail mounted for movement into and out of cooperation withsaid' platen to hold work sheets wrapped around the platen, said bailcomprising a pair of similar arms pivoted at opposite ends of the platenand a rigid bar overlying the platen when in operative position-andinterconnecting the ends of said of recess 108 into threaded engagementwith an aligned arms remote from their pivots, at least the ends of saidbar being of non-circular cross section, the adjacent faces of said endsof said arms having non-circular recesses therein of substantiallyidentical cross sectional configuration to the ends of said bar, theends of said bar projecting into said recesses in firm interlockingrelation and means fastening said bar and arms together at the ends ofsaid bar in rigid assembly.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said bar is of uniformcross section throughout its length and is received at its ends Withinsaid recesses in a forced fit.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein the face of said bardisposed adjacent the platen when said bail is in its Work sheetretaining position is provided with a longitudinally extending grooveand wherein a plurality of small equal diameter rollers are journalledwithin said groove for rotation about an axis extending longitudinallyof said bar, the depth of said groove relative to the diameter of saidrollers being such that but a segment of each of said rollers projectsfrom said groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,478,380 Crawley Dec. 25, 1923 1,547,305 Dowd July 28, 1925 1,549,873Hokanson Aug. 18, 1925 2,152,858 Becker Apr. 4, 1939 2,713,932 LettermanJuly 26, 1955

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A CARRIAGE, A ROTATABLE PLATEN AND A WORK SHEETRETAINING BAIL MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT INTO AND OUT OF COOPERATION WITHSAID PLATEN TO HOLD WORK SHEETS WRAPPED AROUND THE PLATEN, SAID BAILCOMPRISING A PAIR OF SIMILAR ARMS PIVOTED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE PLATENAND A RIGID BAR OVERLYING THE PLATEN WHEN IN OPERATIVE POSITION ANDINTERCONNECTING THE ENDS OF SAID ARMS REMOTE FROM THEIR PIVOTS, AT LEASTTHE ENDS OF SAID BAR BEING OF NON-CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION, THE ADJACENTFACES OF SAID ENDS OF SAID ARMS HAVING NON-CIRCULAR RECESSES THEREIN OFSUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL CROSS SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION TO THE ENDS OFSAID BAR, THE ENDS OF SAID BAR PROJECTING INTO SAID RECESSES IN FIRMINTERLOCKING RELATION AND MEANS FASTENING SAID BAR AND ARMS TOGETHER ATTHE ENDS OF SAID BAR IN RIGID ASSEMBLY.